Miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a fetus before it is viable, occurring at a rate of 15–20%. Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) or habitual miscarriage is defined as repeated occurrence of 3 or more miscarriages before 20th week of gestation accounting for the most common complication of early pregnancy in humans. Various etiological factors responsible for recurrent miscarriage are anatomical, genetical, endocrinological, immunological, and infectious. The endocrinological abnormalities may be polycystic ovarian syndrome, hyperprolactinemia, luteal phase defect, thyroid dysfunction, diabetes, or hyperandrogenism contributing to recurrent pregnancy loss. In the present article, the role of endocrinological disorders in patients with RSA has been reviewed. The article search was done using electronic databases, Google scholarly articles, and PubMed based on different key words. We have further combined the searches and made grouping as per various endocrine abnormalities, which might be responsible to cause spontaneous loss of fetus.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is linked with several cancers such as cancer cervix, vagina, vulva, head and neck, anal, and penile carcinomas. Although there is a proven association of HPV with these cancers, questions regarding HPV testing, vaccination, and treatment of HPV-related cancers continue to remain unanswered. The present article provides an overview of the HPV-associated cancers.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effects of Ocimum gratissimum(OG) on hematological parameters and oxidative stress in diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five male rats (150–200 g) were randomly grouped into five as control, normal + OG, diabetic untreated, diabetic + OG, and diabetic + glibenclamide groups. Diabetes was induced by 100 mg/kg of alloxan monohydrate in the diabetic untreated and diabetic + OG groups followed by treatment with distilled water and 400 mg/kg OG, respectively, whereas control, normal + OG, and diabetic + glibenclamide groups were treated with distilled water, 400 mg/kg OG, and 5 mg/kg glibenclamide, respectively. Body weight and fasting blood glucose level were monitored weekly. After 28 days of treatments, under anesthesia induced by 50 mg/kg sodium thiopental i.p., blood samples were obtained for hematological analysis, malondialdehyde (MDA) level determination, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Data were compared using analysis of variance and Student's t-test. Results: There was a significant decrease in the fasting blood glucose of the diabetic + OG animals compared to the diabetic untreated and the initial reduction in weight observed in this group was reversed at the end of the experiments. Packed cell volume, red blood cell count, and hemoglobin concentration were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in the diabetic + OG when compared with the untreated group. The MDA concentration was significantly lowered (P < 0.01) in the diabetic + OG group when compared with diabetic untreated while SOD activity was significantly reduced in the diabetic untreated group. Conclusion: It was concluded that OG reverses anemia secondary to alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus in rats probably via its antioxidant activity.

Background: Blood inventory management entails maintaining a delicate balance between guaranteeing blood availability and minimizing wastage. The study was conducted to identify and analyze various factors of wastage which can provide insight to ideal inventory management, thus help in formulating policies and improve efficiency of blood transfusion services. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital. To determine various causes of wastage, a retrospective analysis was done over 6 months and preventive strategies adopted. Issuable stock index (ISI) and wastage as percentage of issue (WAPI) were used to compare the effect on blood inventory before and after adoption of strategies. The average number of times each ABO group and Rh type was crossmatched before final transfusion was calculated and compared for randomly selected units over the first 6 months of 2012 and 2013. Results: Outdating was found to be the largest cause, and decrease in discarding rate was observed after adoption of strategies. Mean ISI for different study periods was comparable. However, significant decrease (P = 0.015) was observed for WAPI and WAPI with respect to outdating. Significant decrease in average number of times a unit was crossmatched before final transfusion for all positive blood groups and O-negative blood group was observed over corresponding first 6 months of 2012 and 2013. Conclusion: Division of inventory into two parts, enlistment of soon to outdate blood components, and reduction of holding of blood units to minimum period for elective surgery patients are simple measures which can minimize wastage.

Menthol is a monocyclic terpene alcohol, which is present naturally in peppermint and can be synthesized artificially as well. Generally, it is considered as very safe and has wide usage in medicine and food. There are case reports of toxicity due to excessive consumption of menthol, but a fatal intoxication has never been reported in the medical literature. We present a case of fatal menthol intoxication in a worker, who accidently got exposed when he was working in a peppermint factory. Emergency physicians must keep in mind this extremely rare manifestation of menthol poisoning. All necessary precaution should be taken to reduce its intake or exposure, as it has no specific antidote. Early recognition and supportive treatment of this poisoning is the key for a successful outcome.

Context: In India, the correlation of severity of minor myocardial damage with dyslipidemia has rarely been studied in patients of unstable angina (UA). Dyslipidemia is proven to be a major risk factor for developing acute coronary syndrome (ACS) but still there is doubt about the type of lipoproteins involved in causing minor myocardial damage occurring in UA patients of ACS. Aims: The aim of our study was to find out the contribution of various types of lipoproteins to predict the severity of minor myocardial damage occurring in the patients of UA. Settings and Design: Correlation design was used for the study. A single group of individuals was selected. Data were collected on dependent variable creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and independent variables (lipid profile parameters). Subjects and Methods: The study comprised fifty patients admitted in cardiac care unit with typical history of UA with electrocardiogram showing no ST-segment elevation. The severity of myocardial damage was assessed from on admission CK-MB levels. The lipid profile was estimated from fasting blood samples of all the patients. Statistical Analysis Used: For the purpose of the study, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analysis methods were applied. Results: The triacylglycerol (TAG), very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein (TC/HDL) showed significant positive correlation whereas HDL was negatively correlating with CK-MB levels. Conclusions: The TAG, VLDL, and TC/HDL were found to be significantly affecting the severity of myocardial damage in the patients of UA.

Background: Cardiac electrophysiologic study and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have become an established mode of treatment for patients with refractory arrhythmias. These procedures are carried out regularly at the cardiac catheterization laboratory of Madras Medical Mission India. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate our experience with cardiac electrophysiologic studies (EPS) and RFA catheter of atrial fibrillation (AF). Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study carried out in the Cardiac Electrophysiology Department of the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Madras Medical Mission, India. All cases diagnosed to have AF following cardiac EPS between January 2010 and April 2014 was selected for the study. The records, which were obtained from the Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinical Research Office of Madras Medical Mission, were reviewed. Forty-nine cases were chosen for analysis, using SPSS statistical software version 15. Results: There were 49 patients, 23 males and 26 females. The mean age was 57.53 years. Commonly associated diseases were diabetes mellitus 8 (16.3%), hypertension 18 (36.7%), and coronary heart disease 14 (28.5%). The ventricular rate was rapid most cases (91.2%). AF was diagnosed as being paroxysmal in 40 (81.6%), persistent in 5 (10.2%), chronic in 3 (6.1%), and lone in 1 (2.0%). Ablation was carried out in 28 (57.1%), the success rate being 90% for pulmonary vein isolation, and 90.9% for atrioventricular node ablation. Complication rate was 2.04%. Conclusions: Treatment of AF by RFA is highly effective and safe.

Primary transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the ovary is a rare and recently recognized subtype of ovarian surface epithelial-stromal cancer. Pure forms of the TCC ovary account for only 1% of surface epithelial carcinomas. The clinical presentation is indistinguishable from other types of ovarian cancers. They have a favorable response to chemotherapy than other surface epithelial cancers. We report a case of 55-year-old woman who presented with a hard mass in the abdomen. Computed tomography-diagnosed it as a carcinoma of the ovary. Tumor was immunoreactive with Wilms' tumor protein-1 and nonreactive with cytokeratin 7 (CK7) and CK20. Histopathology diagnosis of primary TCC of the ovary was made. These tumors are needed to be differentiated from metastatic TCC from other sites and undifferentiated carcinomas of ovaries. Clinical features and immunohistochemistry are helpful. Surgical resection is the primary therapeutic approach followed by standardized chemotherapy.

Lipomatous tumors of the uterus are rare neoplasms which can be divided into three broad groups – pure, mixed, and the exceedingly rare malignant liposarcoma. Lipoleiomyoma is a rare benign variant of leiomyoma with an incidence ranging between 0.03% and 0.2%. These tumors are usually seen in obese postmenopausal women and are usually asymptomatic but may also present with typical leiomyoma symptoms. The most common site of occurrence is the uterine corpus. Imaging plays an important role with magnetic resonance imaging being the modality of choice as it delineates the fat component better. The pathogenesis of this lesion is poorly understood. Histology shows a characteristic pattern with an encapsulated lesion with an admixture of smooth muscle cells, lobules of adipocytes and fibrous tissue. Prognosis is excellent. We report a case of lipoleiomyoma in an elderly, obese postmenopausal woman, who presented with abdominal discomfort and discuss the important differential diagnosis.

Background: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) with assistance of radiological tools such as ultrasonography (USG) and computed tomography (CT) is an effective and safe technique for diagnosing intra-abdominal neoplastic and nonneoplastic lesions. Aims and Objectives: (1) To assess the utility of image-guided cytology in the diagnosis of intra-abdominal lesions. (2) To categorize various intra-abdominal lesions according to their site of occurrence and study their cytomorphological features. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pathology between January 2012 and January 2015. A total of 174 cases with intra-abdominal lesions were included in the study. Results: In our study, diagnostic yield was 84.5%. The mean age was found to be 52 years with M: F ratio 1.1:1. We found that 92 (52.87%) cases were in hepatobiliary region, 33 (18.96%) in adnexa, 13 (7.47%) in pancreatic-ampullary region, 14 (8.04%) in unknown abdominal lumps, 8 (4.6%) in lymph nodes, 6 (3.4%) in renal, 5 (2.87%) in retroperitoneum, 2 (1.1%) in omental nodules, and 1 (0.5%) in splenic mass. Of total 174 cases, 106 (61%) cases were malignant, 10 (5.7%) benign, 16 (9.1%) inflammatory, 27 (15.5%) inadequate, and 15 (8.7%) suspicious for malignancy. Conclusion: Ultrasound and CT-guided FNA cytology had a significant role in diagnosis of palpable and nonpalpable intra-abdominal lesions. Being a relatively quick and safe method, it also avoids invasive diagnostic procedures.

Background: Antiphospholipid antibodies (APLA) are acquired autoantibodies directed to phospholipids which are associated with slow progressive thrombosis and infarction of placenta. Infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss may occur because of impaired trophoblast function, placental infarction, and abnormal blood clotting. Aim: To evaluate APLA (IgG and IgM) in cases of infertility and recurrent abortions. Materials and Methods: A prospective study comprising 70 subjects was carried out. Fifty cases of unexplained infertility and recurrent abortions (25 each) constituted the study group. Twenty healthy multipara females of same reproductive age group constituted the control group. Venous blood samples were collected, and serum was analyzed for two types of APLA (IgG and IgM) by ELISA method. Results: The mean IgM and IgG levels in recurrent abortions group were 8.10 MPL-U/ml and 6.17 GPL-U/ml, respectively whereas in control group, the levels were 4.67 MPL-U/ml and 4.53 GPL-U/ml, respectively. The difference was statistically nonsignificant. The mean IgM and IgG levels in unexplained infertility group were 7.30 MPL-U/ml and 6.12 GPL-U/ml, respectively whereas in control group, the levels were 4.67 MPL-U/ml and 4.53 GPL-U/ml, respectively. Again the difference was statistically nonsignificant. Conclusions: The present study concludes that there is no significance of raised APLA in cases of infertility and recurrent abortions.

Background and Aim: One of the goals of health care team is to improve the quality of life of patients during and after hospitalization period. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of performing discharge planning on ischemic heart disease patient's physical quality of life. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 74 ischemic heart disease patients which randomly allocated to discharge-planning group (n = 37) and usual care group (n = 37). The discharge-planning included the patients' educational needs, self-care instructions for patients, and caregivers. This program was performed through supporting patients during hospitalization and after discharge. The physical aspect of quality of life was assessed by standard questionnaire Short Form 36 and the data were analyzed through Mann–Whitney, independent t-test, variance analysis, Friedman and Wilcoxon. Results: There was no significant difference between intervention and control groups in physical aspects of the quality of life before intervention (P = 0.423) while two groups were significantly different after intervention (P = 0.000) and quality of life of patients in the case group improved significantly. Conclusion: Applying the discharge-planning program as an effective, efficient, cost-effective, and noninvasive intervention on physical aspects of the quality of ischemic heart disease patients' lives is useful and helpful. Hence, it is recommended to use this program to promote and improve the quality of ischemic heart disease patients' lives.

A 34-year-old female patient presented with a nodular mass near the right lateral canthus since 1 year. The mass was nodular, pigmented with irregular surface and had a very well-defined margins. A wide excisional biopsy was done for the same. Histopathology reported a basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin. BCC is very rare in young females and also the site of occurrence in this case was unusual. The mass was excised with a safety margin of 3 mm to ensure complete removal.

Chondroblastoma is a rare benign neoplasm of cartilaginous origin. It typically arises in the epiphysis of a long bone. They occur mostly in the second decade of life and is more common in males. Extraskeletal origin of chondroblastoma is a rarity and virulent behavior by its local aggressive nature or metastasis is reported in very few cases. We hereby, present a case of chondroblastoma in the left popliteal fossa first of its kind in a 62-year-old female, primary tumor extraskeletal in origin which turned locally aggressive and eventually metastasized to lungs.The patient is now on palliative therapy.

Background and Aims: “Injuries due to lethal weapons” has emerged as a subject of public discussion in Sri Lanka. This study was conducted to describe the nature and characteristics of injuries due to lethal weapons during civil strife and to compare those with injuries after civil strife. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients reported with injuries caused by lethal weapons from 2004 to 2014. Periods before and after May 19, 2009 were considered as during and after civil strife periods, respectively. A total of 21,210 medico-legal examination forms were studied. Results: There were 358 (1.7%) injuries caused by lethal weapons. Of them, 41% (n = 148) were during and 59% (n = 210) were after the civil strife. During civil strife, 63% occurred during daytime (P < 0.05). Types of lethal weapons that caused injuries were sharp weapons (n = 282), explosives (n = 49), and firearms (n = 27). Of them, 32% of during and 01% of after civil strife were explosive injuries (P < 0.01). Regarding severity, 73% of during and 57% of after civil strife injuries were severe (P < 0.05). During civil strife, 34% injuries were in lower limbs (P < 0.01) and after civil strife, 37% were in upper limbs (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The presence of many similarities indicated that both groups learnt their basis in a society that breeds violence. During civil strife, more injuries occurred during daytime, to lower limbs by explosive weapons and after the civil strife during nighttime, to upper limbs by nonexplosive weapons. Nonexplosive lethal weapon use after civil strife needs further investigation to develop evidence-based interventions.